Amith Prabhu: 13 PR savvy international events and people of 2013

23 Dec,2013

By Amith Prabhu

As we come to the fag end of the year what better way to end than reflecting on people and events who shaped conversations in India and globally. To make it a tribute to 2013 I have listed 13 from across the world this week and will end the year with 13 from India next week. Feel free to add your own in the comments section.

Pope’s election – The resignation of Pope Benedict 16th and the election of Pope Francis was a watershed in the Catholic world that made news beyond mere religious lines.

Edward Snowden’s courage – The courage of one individual to expose the NSA and still generate positive press is commendable. His popularity showed in being the runner up of the Time Person of the year.

Malala Yousafzai’s news dominance – This young Pakistani girl continued to make news with her new book hitting shelves and her visit to the White House

Birth of a Prince in the UK – When he rules the UK, perhaps not for half a century or more, he will be King George VII. Until then, he will be known formally as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge.

Nelson Mandela’s death – Even in death he brought unity and made the ‘selfie’ of those attending his funeral a much talked about topic for days.

Marissa Mayer’s work from home ban order – This had strong reactions for and against but the lady at the centre of the controversy had a convincing take : “people are more productive when they’re alone…they’re more collaborative and innovative when they’re together”.

Dreamliner problems – This big bird from Boeing was in the news for a lot of technical glitches leading to several of them being grounded.

Microsoft buys Nokia – While there was speculation for a while the Redmond headquartered software behemoth went ahead and bought the Finnish handset maker

Indo-US diplomacy – Thanks to Devyani Khobragade, India-US diplomacy reached a new low leading to a display of childish behavior from the two largest democracies.

Cyclones in Asia – Tragedy does not seem to stop. While Philippines saw the loss of several lives the cyclone in Orissa was well managed.

Boston bombings at the Marathon – In what is termed as home grown terror two brothers decided to create havoc in one of America’s keenly watched sporting events

Terror attack in a mall in Kenya – Malls are the new target of terrorists and this Nairobi attack could be the first in many more to come.

PR summits take off second year in a row – The Holmes report Global PR Summit took place in Miami for the second consecutive time. Similarly PRAXISÂ in India witnessed a good response at Lavasa.